Stirling refrigerator for vehicle

ABSTRACT

A Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle may include a drive portion receiving driving torque to be rotated, a compression portion that may be connected to the drive portion to isothermally compress operational fluid through rotation of a rotation shaft, an expansion portion that may be disposed at one side of the compression portion and isothermally expands the operational fluid that may be compressed by the compression portion through the rotation of the rotation shaft to perform an endothermic reaction, and a regeneration portion that may be disposed at one side of the expansion portion and connects the compression portion with the expansion portion such that the compressed operational fluid may be supplied to the expansion portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0118515 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct.24, 2012, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for allpurposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a Stirling refrigerator for a vehiclethat uses an operating fluid to cool the interior of a vehicle in anair-conditioning system of a vehicle.

2. Description of Related Art

Generally, an air conditioning system includes a compressor thatcompresses a coolant, a condenser that condenses the compressedrefrigerant of the compressor, an expansion valve that expands theliquid refrigerant of the condenser, and an evaporator that evaporatesthe expanded refrigerant of the expansion valve, wherein evaporationheat of the refrigerant cools air flowing through the evaporator and thecooled air is supplied to the interior of a vehicle.

However, a conventional air-conditioning system uses a CFC/HCFC groupcompound as an operating refrigerant, and the compound graduallydestroys the ozone layer.

Also, when the CFC/HCFC group compound is exchanged for anotherrefrigerant, there is a problem in that cost is increased.

The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section isonly for enhancement of understanding of the general background of theinvention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form ofsuggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to aperson skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing aStirling refrigerator for a vehicle having advantages of using helium ornitrogen as a refrigerant instead of a CFC/HCFC group compound,preventing pollution, reducing the number of constituent elements,simplifying the layout thereof, and saving cost.

Also, the present invention has advantages of using an operating fluidthat flows inside, eliminating complicated connection pipes, preventingleakage of a fluid, making maintenance easy, and effectively satisfyingenvironmental regulations.

In an aspect of the present invention, a Stirling refrigerator apparatusfor a vehicle, may include a drive portion receiving driving torque tobe rotated, a compression portion that is engaged to the drive portionto isothermally compress operational fluid through rotation of arotation shaft receiving the driving torque from the drive portion, anexpansion portion that is disposed at one side of the compressionportion to isothermally expand the operational fluid that is compressedby the compression portion through the rotation of the rotation shaft soas to perform an endothermic reaction, and a regeneration portion thatis disposed at one side of the expansion portion and fluid—connects thecompression portion with the expansion portion such that a compressedoperational fluid is supplied to the expansion portion therethrough.

The drive portion may include a pulley disposed at one end of therotation shaft, wherein the other end of the rotation shaft is disposedto penetrate the compression portion and the expansion portion.

The compression portion may include a first housing wherein the rotationshaft is rotatably disposed and a plurality of compression chambers areformed therein, a first slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on therotation shaft in the first housing and rotates with the rotation shaft,a plurality of first shoes that are mounted on the first slanted plate,and a plurality of first pistons that are mounted on the first slantedplate through the first shoes and are slidably inserted into thecompression chambers such that according to rotation of the firstslanted plate, the first pistons compress the operational fluid in thecompression chambers.

The compression chambers are formed inside the first housing at apredetermined angular distance from each other in a circumferentialdirection of the rotation shaft.

The first shoes and the first pistons are formed to correspond to thecompression chambers at a predetermined angular distance in acircumferential direction of the first slanted plate.

The expansion portion may include a second housing that is disposed atthe one side of the compression portion, wherein the rotation shaft isrotatably disposed therein, and a plurality of expansion chambers areformed therein, a second slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on therotation shaft in the second housing and rotates with the rotationshaft, a plurality of second shoes that are mounted on the secondslanted plate, and a plurality of second pistons that are mounted on thesecond slanted plate through the second shoes and are slidably insertedinto the expansion chambers such that according to the rotation of thesecond slanted plate, the second pistons compress the operational fluidin the expansion chambers.

The expansion chambers are formed in the second housing at apredetermined angular distance in a circumference direction based on therotation shaft.

The second shoes and the second pistons are formed to correspond to theexpansion chambers at a predetermined angular distance in acircumferential direction of the second slanted plate.

The first slanted plate and the second slanted plate may have a phase ofa predetermined angle and are slantedly disposed on the rotation shaftpassing through the compression portion and the expansion portion,wherein slant angles thereof are in opposite directions from each other.

The compression chambers and the expansion chambers are coaxiallypositioned along an imaginary line to correspond to each other.

The regeneration portion receives the operational fluid that isisothermally compressed to may have a high temperature in thecompression portion and absorbs heat of the operational fluid to supplythe expansion portion with the operational fluid, and receives theoperational fluid that is isothermally expanded to may have a lowtemperature, adds the heat to the operational fluid, and supplies thecompression portion with the operational fluid.

The compression portion, the expansion portion, and the regenerationportion are sequentially disposed along the rotation shaft, and thecompression portion is fluidly connected to the regeneration portionthrough a connection pipe that is disposed outside of the compressionportion corresponding to the compression chamber.

The compression portion is fluid-connected to a cooling apparatus.

The expansion portion is fluid-connected to an air-conditioning device.

In another aspect of the present invention, a Stirling refrigeratorapparatus for a vehicle, may include a drive portion receiving drivingtorque of an engine in the vehicle to be rotated, a compression portionthat is engaged to the drive portion and is coupled to a rotation shaftof the drive portion to isothermally compress an operational fluidthrough rotation of the rotation shaft, an expansion portion that isdisposed at one side of the compression portion to isothermally expandthe operational fluid that is compressed by the compression portion, anda regeneration portion that is disposed between the compression portionand the expansion portion and fluid-connects the compression portionwith the expansion portion such that a compressed operational fluid issupplied to the expansion portion therethrough.

The compression portion may include a first housing wherein the rotationshaft is rotatably disposed and a plurality of compression chambers areformed therein, a first slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on therotation shaft in the first housing and rotates with the rotation shaft,a plurality of first shoes that are mounted on the first slanted plate,and a plurality of first pistons that are mounted on the first slantedplate through the first shoes and are slidably inserted into thecompression chambers such that according to rotation of the firstslanted plate, the first pistons compress the operational fluid in thecompression chambers.

The expansion portion may include a second housing that is disposed atone side of the compression portion, wherein the rotation shaft isrotatably disposed therein, and a plurality of expansion chambers areformed therein, a second slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on therotation shaft in the second housing and rotates with the rotationshaft, a plurality of second shoes that are mounted on the secondslanted plate, and a plurality of second pistons that are mounted on thesecond slanted plate through the second shoes and are slidably insertedinto the expansion chambers such that according to the rotation of thesecond slanted plate, the second pistons compress the operational fluidin the expansion chambers.

The first slanted plate and the second slanted plate may have a phase ofa predetermined angle and are slantedly disposed on the rotation shaftof the compression portion and the expansion portion, wherein slantangles thereof are in opposite directions from each other.

The compression portion is fluid-connected to a cooling apparatus.

The expansion portion is fluid-connected to an air-conditioning device.

As described above, a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention uses helium or nitrogeninstead of a CFC/HCFC group refrigerant to perform isothermalcompression, an isometric process, isothermal expansion, and anisometric process, uses an endothermic reaction during the isothermalexpansion to the interior chamber of a vehicle, and prevents pollution.

Further, the layout of the system becomes simple by reducing the numberof constituent elements, the space of the engine compartment iseffectively used, and cost is saved by substituting for the conventionalrefrigerant.

In addition, the isothermal compression, the isothermal expansion, andthe isometric process are performed inside the system, separatecomplicated connection pipes are eliminated, and leakage of theoperating fluid is prevented to reduce maintenance

Also, the helium or nitrogen as a refrigerant prevents pollution, and itis possible to satisfy environmental regulations.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other featuresand advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in moredetail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, andthe following Detailed Description, which together serve to explaincertain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a transparent perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator fora vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a transparent side view of a Stirling refrigerator for avehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for avehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a Stirling refrigerator for avehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show operational conditions of a Stirling refrigeratorfor a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicleaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarilyto scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of variousfeatures illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. Thespecific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein,including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations,and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intendedapplication and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent partsof the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of thepresent invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) willbe described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will beunderstood that the present description is not intended to limit theinvention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, theinvention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplaryembodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalentsand other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

While the invention will be described in conjunction with exemplaryembodiments, it will be understood that the present description is notintended to limit the invention to those exemplary embodiments. On thecontrary, the invention is intended to cover not only the exemplaryembodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents,and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicle,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 isa transparent perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 isa transparent side view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 isan exploded perspective view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.5 is a cross-sectional view of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, a Stirling refrigerator 100 for a vehicleaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention useshelium or nitrogen instead of a CFC/HCFC group refrigerant to performisothermal compression, an isometric process, isothermal expansion, andan isometric process, and cools the interior of a vehicle by using anendothermic reaction during the isothermal expansion such that thepollution phenomenon is prevented, the layout becomes simple by reducingthe number of constituent elements, and the cost can be reduced.

Also, an operating fluid flows inside the system, and therefore separatecomplicated connection pipes are eliminated and leakage of the operatingfluid is prevented to reduce maintenance.

Further, the helium or nitrogen as a refrigerant prevents pollution, andit is possible to satisfy all environmental regulations.

For this, a Stirling refrigerator 100 for a vehicle according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 toFIG. 5, includes a drive portion 110, a compression portion 120, anexpansion portion 130, and a regeneration portion 140, and these will hedescribed in detail.

Firstly, the drive portion 110 includes a rotation shaft 112 thatreceives driving torque from an engine of a vehicle to be rotated.

Here, a pulley 114 is disposed at one side of the rotation shaft 112 tobe connected to an engine through a belt, and the other end portion ofthe rotation shaft 112 penetrates the compression portion 120 and theexpansion portion 130.

That is, the drive portion 110 receives the driving torque of the enginethrough the belt and the pulley 114 to rotate the rotation shaft 112.

The compression portion 120 is connected to the drive portion 110 andisothermally compresses operational fluid through rotation of therotation shaft 112 to generate heat in the present exemplary embodiment.

The compression portion 120 includes a first housing 122, a firstslanted plate 124, a first shoe 126, and a first piston 128, and thesewill be described as follows.

Firstly, the rotation shaft 112 is rotatably disposed to penetrate acentral portion of the first housing 122, and a plurality of compressionchambers 121 are formed in the housing 122.

Here, the compression chambers 121 are formed in the first housing 122at a predetermined distance in a circumference direction based on therotation shaft 112, and six chambers 121 are formed inside the firsthousing 122 in the present exemplary embodiment.

The first slanted plate 124 is slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft112 inside the first housing 122 to be rotated with the rotation shaft112 in the present exemplary embodiment.

A plurality of first shoes 126 are prepared to be mounted on an exteriorcircumference of the first slanted plate 124 at a predetermineddistance.

Also, the first piston 128 reciprocates in the compression chamber 121depending on the rotation of the first slanted plate 124 to compress theoperational fluid, and the first piston 128 is mounted on the firstslanted plate 124 through the first shoe 126.

Here, the first shoe 126 and the first piston 128 are disposed on anexterior circumference of the first slanted plate 124 at a predeterminedangle (or distance) based on the rotation shaft 112 to correspond to thecompression chamber 121.

The first shoe 126 and the first piston 128 are mounted on an exteriorcircumference of the first slanted plate 124 at 60 degree intervals tocorrespond to the six compression chambers 121.

Accordingly, the first piston 128 reciprocates in the compressionchamber 121 by the first slanted plate 124 that is rotated by therotation shaft 112 to isothermally compress the operational fluid in thecompression chamber 121, and the compressed fluid radiates heat.

The heat radiation of the operational fluid heats the compressionportion 120 in a high temperature condition.

Here, the operational fluid can he helium or nitrogen gas.

The expansion portion 130 is disposed at one side of the compressionportion 120, receives the compressed fluid from the compression portion120 through the rotation of the rotation shaft 112 to isothermallyexpand the compressed fluid, and the expanded fluid absorb heat from theoutside in the present exemplary embodiment.

The expansion portion 130 includes a second housing 132, a secondslanted plate 134, a second shoe 136, and a second piston 138, and thesewill be described as follows.

Firstly, the second housing 132 is disposed at one side of thecompression portion 120, the rotation shaft 112 is rotatably disposed topenetrate a central portion of the second housing 132, and a pluralityof expansion chambers 131 are formed in the housing 122 to correspond tothe compression chamber 121.

Here, the expansion chambers 131 are formed in the second housing 132 ata predetermined distance in a circumference direction based on therotation shaft 112, and six chambers 131 are formed inside the secondhousing 132 in the present exemplary embodiment.

The second slanted plate 134 is slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft112 inside the second housing 132 to be rotated with the rotation shaft112 in the present exemplary embodiment.

A plurality of second shoes 136 are prepared to be mounted on anexterior circumference of the second slanted plate 134 at apredetermined distance.

Also, the second piston 138 reciprocates in the expansion chamber 131depending on the rotation of the second slanted plate 134 to expand theoperational fluid, and the second piston 138 is mounted on the secondslanted plate 134 through the second shoe 136,

Here, the second shoes 136 and the second pistons 138 are disposed on anexterior circumference of the second slanted plate 134 at apredetermined angle (or distance) based on the rotation shaft 112 tocorrespond to the expansion chamber 131.

The second shoes 136 and the second piston 138 are mounted on anexterior circumference of the second slanted plate 134 at 60 degreeintervals to correspond to the expansion chambers 131 of which six areformed in the second housing 132 at 60 degree intervals.

Accordingly, the second piston 138 reciprocates in the expansion chamber131 by the second slanted plate 134 that is rotated by the rotationshaft 112 to isothermally expand the operational fluid in the expansionchamber 131, and the expanded fluid absorbs heat.

The heat absorption of the operational fluid cools the expansion portion130 in a low temperature condition.

Meanwhile, the first slanted plate 124 and the second slanted plate 134have a phase of a predetermined angle and are slantedly disposed on therotation shaft 112 of the compression portion 120 and the expansionportion 130, wherein the slant angles thereof are in opposite directionsfrom each other in the present exemplary embodiment.

Also, the compression chambers 121 and the expansion chambers 131 arepositioned at the same line to correspond to each other.

Also, the regeneration portion 140 is disposed at one side of theexpansion portion 130 and connects the compression portion 120 with theexpansion portion 130 such that the compressed operational fluid issupplied to the expansion portion 130.

The regeneration portion 140 receives the operational fluid that isisothermally compressed to have a high temperature in the compressionportion 120 and absorbs heat of the operational fluid to supply theexpansion portion 130 with it.

Thereafter, the regeneration portion 140 receives the operational fluidthat is isothermally expanded to have a low temperature from theexpansion portion 130, transfers the heat to the operational fluid, andsupplies the compression portion 120 with it.

Here, the regeneration portion 140 includes six regeneration filters 142to respectively correspond to the compression chambers 121 and theexpansion chambers 131. The regeneration filters 142 can be formed as athin wire mesh type in a united state to absorb heat from theoperational fluid or supply the operational fluid with heat.

As described above, the compression portion 120, the expansion portion130, and the regeneration portion 140 can be sequentially disposed.

Also, the compression portion 120 is connected to the regenerationportion 140 through a plurality of connecting pipes 150 that are mountedoutside of the compression portion 120 corresponding to the compressionchamber 121 such that the operational fluid flows from the compressionportion 120 to the regeneration portion 140.

The first slanted plate 124 of the compression portion 120 and thesecond slanted plate 134 of the expansion portion 130 having theabove-described configuration are slantedly disposed in oppositedirections and therefore when they are rotated with the rotation shaft112 they have opposite phases.

Accordingly, the compression portion 120 compresses the operationalfluid by reciprocating the first piston 128 that is inserted in thecompression chamber 121 through the first slanted plate 124.

Thus, the operational fluid that is compressed by the compressionchamber 120 is supplied to the regeneration filter 142 to shed the heatthereof therein, is supplied to the expansion chamber 131 of theexpansion portion 130, and is isothermally expanded by the second piston138 that reciprocates through the first slanted plate 124 and the secondslanted plate 134 that is moved in an opposite phase of the firstslanted plate 124.

That is, the compression chamber 121 is coaxially disposed with theexpansion chamber 131, and when the operational fluid is isothermalcompressed by the compression chamber 121, the expansion chamber 131performs isothermal expansion of the operational fluid.

The isothermal compression and the isothermal expansion are sequentiallyperformed in the compression chamber 121 and the expansion chamber 131through the first piston 128 and the second piston 138 that are moved bythe slanted plates 124 and 134, and these processes is performed by thedriving torque transferred from the engine.

Here, the compression portion 120 radiates heat to a cooling apparatus160 through a non-illustrated water jacket covering the outside of thecompression portion 120 to be cooled.

Further, the expansion portion 130 cools the coolant by absorbing heatfrom the coolant that is supplied from an air conditioning device 170through a non-illustrated water jacket covering the outside of theexpansion portion 130, the air flows through the air conditioning device170 to be cooled by the cooled coolant, and the cooled air to besupplied to the interior of the vehicle.

Hereinafter, operation and function of a refrigerator for a vehicle 100according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention having theabove-described configuration will be described.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show operational conditions of a Stirling refrigeratorfor a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to the drawings, in a Stirling refrigerator 100 according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention, driving torque of theengine is transferred to the pulley 114 of the drive portion 110 througha belt from a non-illustrated engine to rotate the pulley 114.

The first slanted plate 124 of the compression portion 120 and thesecond slanted plate 134 of the expansion portion 130 that are disposedon the rotation shaft 112 are rotated in opposite phases from eachother, and the first piston 128 is inserted into/drawn out of thecompression chamber 121 and the second piston 138 is drawn outof/inserted into the expansion chamber 131.

Firstly, if the first piston 128 is inserted into the compressionchamber 121, the operational fluid is isothermally compressed in thecompression chamber 131 to generate heat, and the compression portion120 is sustained at a high temperature through the heat generation.

Here, the cooling apparatus 160 supplies the non-illustrated waterjacket covering the compression portion 120 with coolant to cool thecompression portion 120 and the heated coolant is cooled by the coolingapparatus 160.

The operational fluid that is compressed by the compression portion 120is supplied to the regeneration portion 140 through the connection pipe150, passes the regeneration filter 142 that is disposed to correspondto the compression chamber 121 and the expansion chamber 131 to lose theheat thereof, and is supplied to the expansion portion 130.

Then, the operational fluid that flows in the expansion portion 130 isexpanded in the expansion chamber 131 that corresponds to thecompression chamber 121 that performs compression by the movement of thesecond piston 138 to occur an endothermic reaction (heat absorption).

The heat absorption of the operational fluid through the isothermalexpansion cools the expansion portion 130 to have a lower temperaturecondition.

Here, the air conditioning device 170 supplies the coolant to thenon-illustrated water jacket covering the expansion portion 130 to coolthe coolant through the heat exchange with the expansion portion 130,the cooled coolant is circulated to cool the air, and the cooled air issupplied to cool the interior of the vehicle.

As described above, the first piston 128 is inserted into or drawn outof the compression chamber 121 by the first slanted plate 124 that isslantedly disposed on the rotation shaft 112 to compress the operationalfluid of the compression chamber 121, and the compressed operationalfluid of the compression chamber 121 passes the regeneration portion 140along the connection pipe 150 to be supplied to the expansion chamber131 of the expansion portion 130.

In this process, when the operational fluid sequentially flows in theexpansion chamber 131, the second piston 138 is drawn out of or insertedinto the expansion chamber 131 by the second slanted plate 138 that isslantedly disposed on the rotation shaft 112, wherein the phase of thesecond slanted plate 138 is opposite to that of the first slanted plate124.

Accordingly, the operational fluid flows between the compression chamber121 and the expansion chamber 131 by the first and second pistons 128and 138 that are inserted into or drawn out of the compression chamber121 and the expansion chamber 131, wherein the first and second slantedplates 124 and 134 are rotated on the rotation shaft 112 with oppositephases.

That is, the operational fluid that is supplied from the compressionportion 120 to the regeneration portion 140 through the connection pipe150 and passes the regeneration portion 140 to flow into the expansionportion, the operational fluid of the expansion portion 130 passes theregeneration portion 140 and passes the connection pipe 150 to besupplied to the compression portion 120, and these processes arerepeated by the rotation of the rotation shaft 112.

That is, the operational fluid is isothermally compressed in thecompression portion 120 to generate heat, passes the regenerationportion 140 in an isometric process, is isothermally expanded in theexpansion portion 130 to absorb heat, passes the regeneration portion140 in an isometric process, and is isothermally compressed in thecompression portion 120, wherein the operational fluid repeats theisothermal compression, the isometric process, the isothermal expansion,and the isometric process.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a Stirling refrigerator for a vehicleaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the Stirling refrigerator 200 includes a driveportion 210, a compression portion 220, an expansion portion 230, and aregeneration portion 240.

Firstly, the drive portion 210 includes a rotation shaft 212 thatreceives driving torque from an engine of a vehicle to be rotated.

The compression portion 220 is connected to the drive portion 210 and isdisposed at one side of the rotation shaft 212 to isothermally compressoperational fluid through the rotation of the rotation shaft 212 togenerate heat according to the current exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

The expansion portion 230 is disposed at the other end portion of therotation shaft 212 and isothermally expands the operational fluid thatis compressed by the compression portion 220.

Further, the regeneration portion 240 is disposed between thecompression portion 220 and the expansion portion 230 and fluidlyconnects the compression portion 220 with the expansion portion 230 tosupply the operational fluid that is isothermally compressed by thecompression portion 220 to the expansion portion 230.

That is, unlike the previous exemplary embodiment, a Stirlingrefrigerator for a vehicle 200 according to the current exemplaryembodiment of the present invention includes the regeneration portion240 that is disposed between the compression portion 220 and theexpansion portion 230, and the detailed description for theconfiguration and the operation thereof will be omitted.

Accordingly, a Stirling refrigerator 100, 200 for a vehicle according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention uses helium or nitrogeninstead of a CFC/HCFC group refrigerant to perform isothermalcompression, an isometric process, isothermal expansion, and anisometric process, uses an endothermic reaction during the isothermalexpansion to cool the interior of the vehicle, and prevents pollution.

Also, the layout of the system becomes simple by reducing the number ofconstituent elements, the space of the engine compartment is effectivelyused, and the cost is saved by substituting for the conventionalrefrigerant.

Also, since the isothermal compression, isothermal expansion, andisometric process are performed inside the system, separate complicatedconnection pipes are eliminated, and leakage of the operating fluid isprevented to reduce maintenance.

Further, the helium or the nitrogen as a refrigerant prevents pollution,so it is possible to satisfy environmental regulations.

For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appendedclaims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner” and “outer” are used todescribe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to thepositions of such features as displayed in the figures.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in orderto explain certain principles of the invention and their practicalapplication, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make andutilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as wellas various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended thatthe scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A Stirling refrigerator apparatus for a vehicle,comprising: a drive portion receiving driving torque to be rotated; acompression portion that is engaged to the drive portion to isothermallycompress operational fluid through rotation of a rotation shaftreceiving the driving torque from the drive portion; an expansionportion that is disposed at one side of the compression portion toisothermally expand the operational fluid that is compressed by thecompression portion through the rotation of the rotation shaft so as toperform an endothermic reaction; and a regeneration portion that isdisposed at one side of the expansion portion and fluid-connects thecompression portion with the expansion portion such that a compressedoperational fluid is supplied to the expansion portion therethrough. 2.The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 1, whereinthe drive portion includes a pulley disposed at one end of the rotationshaft, wherein the other end of the rotation shaft is disposed topenetrate the compression portion and the expansion portion.
 3. TheStirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 1, wherein thecompression portion includes: a first housing wherein the rotation shaftis rotatably disposed and a plurality of compression chambers are formedtherein; a first slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on the rotationshaft in the first housing and rotates with the rotation shaft; aplurality of first shoes that are mounted on the first slanted plate;and a plurality of first pistons that are mounted on the first slantedplate through the first shoes and are slidably inserted into thecompression chambers such that according to rotation of the firstslanted plate, the first pistons compress the operational fluid in thecompression chambers.
 4. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for thevehicle of claim 3, wherein the compression chambers are formed insidethe first housing at a predetermined angular distance from each other ina circumferential direction of the rotation shaft.
 5. The Stirlingrefrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 3, wherein the firstshoes and the first pistons are formed to correspond to the compressionchambers at a predetermined angular distance in a circumferentialdirection of the first slanted plate.
 6. The Stirling refrigeratorapparatus for the vehicle of claim 3, wherein the expansion portionincludes: a second housing that is disposed at the one side of thecompression portion, wherein the rotation shaft is rotatably disposedtherein, and a plurality of expansion chambers are formed therein; asecond slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on the rotation shaft inthe second housing and rotates with the rotation shaft; a plurality ofsecond shoes that are mounted on the second slanted plate; and aplurality of second pistons that are mounted on the second slanted platethrough the second shoes and are slidably inserted into the expansionchambers such that according to the rotation of the second slantedplate, the second pistons compress the operational fluid in theexpansion chambers.
 7. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for thevehicle of claim 6, wherein the expansion chambers are formed in thesecond housing at a predetermined angular distance in a circumferencedirection based on the rotation shaft.
 8. The Stirling refrigeratorapparatus for the vehicle of claim 6, wherein the second shoes and thesecond pistons are formed to correspond to the expansion chambers at apredetermined angular distance in a circumferential direction of thesecond slanted plate.
 9. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for thevehicle of claim 6, wherein the first slanted plate and the secondslanted plate have a phase of a predetermined angle and are slantedlydisposed on the rotation shaft passing through the compression portionand the expansion portion, wherein slant angles thereof are in oppositedirections from each other.
 10. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus forthe vehicle of claim 6, wherein the compression chambers and theexpansion chambers are coaxially positioned along an imaginary line tocorrespond to each other.
 11. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus forthe vehicle of claim 1, wherein the regeneration portion receives theoperational fluid that is isothermally compressed to have a hightemperature in the compression portion and absorbs heat of theoperational fluid to supply the expansion portion with the operationalfluid, and receives the operational fluid that is isothermally expandedto have a low temperature, adds the heat to the operational fluid, andsupplies the compression portion with the operational fluid.
 12. TheStirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 6, wherein thecompression portion, the expansion portion, and the regeneration portionare sequentially disposed along the rotation shaft, and the compressionportion is fluidly connected to the regeneration portion through aconnection pipe that is disposed outside of the compression portioncorresponding to the compression chamber.
 13. The Stirling refrigeratorapparatus for the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the compression portion isfluid-connected to a cooling apparatus.
 14. The Stirling refrigeratorapparatus for the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the expansion portion isfluid-connected to an air-conditioning device.
 15. A Stirlingrefrigerator apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: a drive portionreceiving driving torque of an engine in the vehicle to be rotated; acompression portion that is engaged to the drive portion and is coupledto a rotation shaft of the drive portion to isothermally compress anoperational fluid through rotation of the rotation shaft; an expansionportion that is disposed at one side of the compression portion toisothermally expand the operational fluid that is compressed by thecompression portion; and a regeneration portion that is disposed betweenthe compression portion and the expansion portion and fluid-connects thecompression portion with the expansion portion such that a compressedoperational fluid is supplied to the expansion portion therethrough. 16.The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 15, whereinthe compression portion includes: a first housing wherein the rotationshaft is rotatably disposed and a plurality of compression chambers areformed therein; a first slanted plate that is slantedly mounted on therotation shaft in the first housing and rotates with the rotation shaft;a plurality of first shoes that are mounted on the first slanted plate;and a plurality of first pistons that are mounted on the first slantedplate through the first shoes and are slidably inserted into thecompression chambers such that according to rotation of the firstslanted plate, the first pistons compress the operational fluid in thecompression chambers.
 17. The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for evehicle of claim 16, wherein the expansion portion includes: a secondhousing that is disposed at one side of the compression portion, whereinthe rotation shaft is rotatably disposed therein, and a plurality ofexpansion chambers are formed therein; a second slanted plate that isslantedly mounted on the rotation shaft in the second housing androtates with the rotation shaft; a plurality of second shoes that aremounted on the second slanted plate; and a plurality of second pistonsthat are mounted on the second slanted plate through the second shoesand are slidably inserted into the expansion chambers such thataccording to the rotation of the second slanted plate, the secondpistons compress the operational fluid in the expansion chambers. 18.The Stirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 17, whereinthe first slanted plate and the second slanted plate have a phase of apredetermined angle and are slantedly disposed on the rotation shaft ofthe compression portion and the expansion portion, wherein slant anglesthereof are in opposite directions from each other.
 19. The Stirlingrefrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 15, wherein thecompression portion is fluid-connected to a cooling apparatus.
 20. TheStirling refrigerator apparatus for the vehicle of claim 15, wherein theexpansion portion is fluid-connected to an air-conditioning device.